My Take: Civics revisited and the wisdom of the Electoral College

Friday

Before getting into a discussion on the wisdom of our founders in the creation of the Electoral College, I wanted to comment on my last My Take, “Civics lesson on socialism” (Sentinel March 31).

I found it interesting, the number of local socialists it brought out of the closet, so to speak. Socialists need to understand that just stating something doesn’t make it true. Fortunately for our country, I think more people are starting to realize that this whole far-left push of our so-called Democratic Party is really nothing but pure socialism trying to rear its ugly head here in the USA.

This is not the first time, nor will it be the last. The important thing is that we look clearly at the facts. The capitalist system operating in a Democratic society has created the most powerful economic engine in the world, without challenge. A few facts of where we are today:

Nearly 4 million jobs created since President Trump’s election (263,000 in April alone)More Americans working today than any time in our history400,000 manufacturing jobs created (Obama said they were gone for good) and growing at the fastest rate in more than three decadesUnemployment at a 49-year lowMedian household income has hit its highest level ever recordedAfrican, Asian and Hispanic American unemployment at the lowest level ever recordedWomen’s unemployment the lowest in 65 years3.9 million Americans lifted off food stamps

I could go on and on.

I might suggest that folks like Don Bergman ("My Take: Civics lesson on capitalism and socialism," Sentinel, April 7) take a look at the facts before making statements like: “For many, our current capitalist system is causing misery, repression and death of liberty.” Sorry, Don, I don’t see it. And by the way, fascism, (which he discusses extensively), is generally an outgrowth of socialism and/or communism not capitalism.

Anyway, on the Electoral College issue, the goal of the so-called Progressive Democrats is to do away with the Electoral College and have elections for the president of the United States based purely on popular vote. We need to understand that the goal of the EC was to protect all Americans against what has been called the “tyranny of the majority.” There has only been two elections in our history where the EC did not reflect the popular vote and they were 2000 and 2016. Both elections were lost by the Democrats and, therefore, their desire to change the 200-year-old system.

If power is to rest with the states to elect our presidents, there has to be a way of equitably balancing the influence each state has. The problem with strictly using the popular vote becomes very obvious when one looks at the respective populations of the various states. Using what is published to be 2019 population numbers, one can see that the top four states — California, Texas, Florida and New York — have more population than the next 14 states in size combined. And of the remaining 33 states (including the District of Columbia), the top four, as noted earlier, have more population than all 33 combined.

Los Angeles County alone has a greater population than the smallest 10 states in combined population. For the smaller, less populated states to have equal influence in presidential elections, the framers of our Constitution developed the Electoral College, which has worked and done what it was intended to do for over 200 years. The system is really brilliant being based on the number of senators (always two) and the number of House of Representative members from each state (which can change every decade).

Let’s say we were to switch to strictly a popular vote — what impact do you think states like the 33 mentioned above and certainly the smallest 10 would have? The candidates would spend all of their time and effort, both before and following the election, (because of future elections) campaigning in, and then accommodating the needs of those larger states. The smaller states in our country would have little to no influence on presidential elections and the activity that would follow those elections.

The Democrats (our new socialist party) are pushing the National Popular Vote Compact (NPVC), which would allow them to avoid a constitutional amendment to change from the Electoral College to a popular vote. That pesky Constitution is always getting in the way of the left. The American model of government has served as a beacon to the world for over 200 years. Why do you think everyone wants to come here?

— Bob Campbell is a resident of Holland. He can be reached at Bobc33352@gmail.com.

Never miss a story

Choose the plan that's right for you.
Digital access or digital and print delivery.